The Aftermath
by Auctoria
Summary: Follow Albus, Rose, Scorpius and James as they all join Hogwarts. Watch them tread their parents' paths and even forge new ones of their own. God knows the mischief they will manage at Hogwarts in their seven years of magical education. Second Generation Fic.


**THE AFTERMATH**

**Summary:** _Follow Albus, Rose, Scorpius and James as they all join Hogwarts. Watch them tread their parents' paths and even forge new ones of their own. God knows the mischief they will manage at Hogwarts in their seven years of magical education._

**Note:** _This story is written jointly by Nutty (Nutty Ashah) and Winnie (Winnie Friends). We take turns to write each chapter and edit the one which the other has written. For more details, head on to our profile._

**Disclaimer**: All copyrights go to JK Rowling.

**TIMELINE:**_ This piece of fan fiction begins with the epilogue of The Harry Potter Series: Nineteen Years Later._

**Written by:** _Nutty_

**Edited by:** _Winnie_

_**Prologue: New Beginnings**_

**ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER**

It was September and it looked like autumn had arrived early. The day was crisp and bright. It was the day Albus would go to Hogwarts. Finally.

They had arrived at King's Cross Station. Of course, it was not the first time that Albus was setting foot here. He had always come with his mom, dad and Lily to see James off. Albus thought of the times he would stare longingly at the train as it sped away, carrying his brother to another year of adventure at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It was finally his time to go. The time he had been waiting for.

Therefore, all the familiar sights bore the trace of novelty to him today. The soot in the station, the din and clamor of all the students and their parents, everything was regarded with a plain mix of wonder and excitement.

Albus was suddenly reawakened from his reverie when he heard his owl hooting. He thought of how he hoped that the time would come soon for him to experience all the wonders. He watched Lily clutch at his father's hand fearfully. He felt sorry for her. Poor Lily, she would be alone for two years before she could join either of them.

His father seemed to have the same thought because he said, "It won't be long, and you'll be going too."

Albus watched in amusement as Lily pouted. "Two long years," sniffed Lily. "I want to go now."

He was about to ruffle her hair when James sidled up next to him. James had an evil look upon his face and Albus knew what exactly he was going to say before James opened his mouth.

"I wonder if mom and dad would disown you if you somehow land in Slytherin, little brother."

James had voiced the very fear Albus had had ever since he heard about the four houses of Hogwarts. But he was not going to show James that he was afraid.

"I won't! I won't be a Slytherin."

Albus groaned internally as he heard how childish he sounded. He should have just kept quiet like mum tells him to.

Mum cast the evil eye upon James. "James, give it a rest."

"I only said he might be," said James, grinning at his younger brother. "There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slytherin"

Albus ignored him. Thankfully, James dropped it and with a last cocky look at his younger brother, he took the trolley from mum and broke into a run. Seconds later, he vanished.

Albus looked around quickly. For some reason, he always dreaded the day when a muggle would see this vanishing act of theirs. Mum and dad would laugh at this and say that it was highly unlikely. If at all something like that happened, an obliviating charm would be cast and it would be done away with. Still.

Albus was suddenly aware of his older brother's absence. Now was the chance to talk to his parents without having James make fun of him.

"You'll write to me, won't you?" he asked his parents immediately.

His mother smiled warmly at him. "Everyday, if you want us to."

Albus imagined the look on his brother's face if mum and dad were to write daily.

"Not every day," he quickly clarified. "James says most people only get letters from home about once a month," Albus added thoughtfully.

Albus's mum looked at his dad and smiled a rueful smile. "We wrote to James three times a week last year."

Upon being nudged by his mum, Albus's dad, Harry quickly added, "And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts. He likes a laugh, your brother."

Albus nodded. Soon, they were pushing their second trolley forward, gathering speed. He was side by side with his mum, dad and his younger sister, Lily. As soon as they reached the barrier, Albus felt himself wince but found he had passed through the barrier seamlessly like he knew he would.

Albus looked around in glee at Platform Number Nine and Three Quarters. The mist was hazy and swallowed the people around him and made them look like indistinct figures. James had already disappeared into the mist.

Albus looked around for his favourite people, the Weasley family. He knew that Rose Weasley was starting this year at Hogwarts just like him and he was glad for the company.

He looked at his mother, Ginny. "Where are they?"

It was impossible to make out anyone in the mist.

"We'll find them," said Ginny reassuringly.

The mist was very thick and no amount of peering could make out the unclear forms of anybody's faces. The din in the station grew and it had an eerie quality about it because the voices were all without faces. You could hear babbling about the time the Hogwarts Express would leave, the musings about a new year at Hogwarts and even a discourse on broomstick regulations.

"I think that's them, Al," exclaimed his mother suddenly.

Albus spun around and spotted the group his mother was pointing at. He walked to them, along with his family. It was only after they were right in front of them, could Albus see the faces of his beloved Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, Hugo and Rose.

"Hi." He grinned at them in relief.

He noticed that Rose was already wearing her brand-new Hogwarts robes. She beamed at him.

He let his parents talk to Aunt and Uncle Weasley while he glanced nervously at Rose.

"So, which house do you want to be in?" he asked.

Before Rose could answer, Hugo yelled, "I know I'll be in Gryffindor like mum and dad," he said while jumping up and down.

Lily clapped her hands delightedly. "We'll have so much fun together in the common room, Hugo!"

Hugo sighed. "Two years."

Lily slapped him playfully and started talking animatedly about how excited she would be to wear the Sorting Hat.

Uncle Ron strode up to them.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you, but no pressure."

"Ron!" Hermione glared at him. She could see the expression of the two kids changing.

Albus knew Uncle Ron only meant it playfully but couldn't help the feeling of dread creeping upon him. Looking at Rose, he saw that his expression perfectly mirrored hers.

Lily and Hugo broke into laughter. Well, they could very well laugh now.

Ginny and Hermione saw how pale Albus and Rose looked. "He doesn't mean it," both of them said comfortingly.

"Look who it is," Albus heard Uncle Ron saying with a dark look in his eyes.

He looked up at where Ron was pointing and was met with the sight of a close-knit family. The man had pale, blond hair with a receding hairline which only served to emphasize his pointy chin. The woman beside him had striking features and had a regal look about her. The boy who looked to be Albus's age resembled his father greatly.

The mist cleared and the man caught them looking. He regarded them for a moment with cold eyes, nodded curtly and turned away.

"So that's little Scorpius," said Ron under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

It was when Uncle Ron said that did Albus understand who the family was. He was pretty sure that the man was Draco Malfoy, Harry's arch rival in his time at Hogwarts. He silently agreed with what Ron had said about beating Malfoy's son, Scorpius. He eyed Scorpius carefully as if making mental notes on how he's going to beat him.

However, Aunt Hermione did not seem to agree.

"Ron, for heaven's sake," said Hermione, half stern, half amused. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

Ron grinned sheepishly at his wife. "You're right, sorry," said Ron, but unable to help himself, he added, "Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

Albus sniggered, but Rose and Aunt Hermione just looked plain disapproving.

Suddenly, James appeared from nowhere. He was free of his trunk, trolley and owl, but seemed to be bursting with news.

"Teddy's back there," he said breathlessly, pointing back over his shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam. "Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"

Albus grinned to himself. He knew it. He knew there was something going on between Teddy and Victoire.

He laughed seeing his brother's face when he realized that his discovery did not evoke much reaction from the adults.

James tried again, in case the adults didn't understand. "Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing."

Ginny clucked disapprovingly. "You interrupted them? You are so like Ron."

James looked at his mother as though she were mad.

"And he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" James added as though worried he had not made himself clear.

The adults still did not have much of a reaction and James quit.

However, Lily had something to say about it. "Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!" she whispered ecstatically. "Teddy would really be part of the family then!"

Her dad snorted. "He already comes round for dinner about four times a week," he said. "Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have done with it?"

Albus understood that dad was being sarcastic but it clearly evaded the thick-headed James Potter, his brother.

"Yeah!" said James enthusiastically. "I don't mind sharing with Al. Teddy could have my room!"

Dad looked sternly at James. "No," he said firmly, "you and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished."

Albus grinned and noticed dad checking his old battered watch. It was always a mystery why he did not throw it away and get himself a new one. They could afford it, after all.

"It's nearly eleven; you'd better get on board."

"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" Ginny told James as she hugged him.

Albus was looking forward to see dad and mom's old friend, Neville again. He wonder how Neville is as a Professor. He was pretty cool when he came to their house last summer. Albus knew he taught Herbology and made a mental note to get good grades in that subject so that Professor Longbottom wouldn't have complaints about him.

James sighed in exasperation. "Mum! I can't give a professor love!"

Ginny knitted her eyebrows. "But you know Neville!"

James rolled his eyes. "Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him love..."

James shook his head and aimed a kick at Albus which he dodged. That brother of his really needed to find other ways to vent out his frustration at the world.

"See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."

Albus's eyes widened. "I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible, didn't you?!"

But, James merely laughed and after being kissed by his mother and hugged by his father, he sprinted off to find his friends.

"Thestrals are nothing to worry about," Harry told Albus, stroking his hair. "They're gentle things, there's nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won't be going up to school in the carriages, you'll be going in the boats."

Albus nodded and felt silly for being so nervous and scared.

Ginny kissed Albus good-bye.

"See you at Christmas."

Christmas seemed such a long way to Albus.

"Bye, Al," said Harry as his son hugged him. "Don't forget Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone till you're learned how. And don't let James wind you up."

Albus blinked at the number of instructions from his father. He was just beginning to understand the finality of it all. Suddenly, his most dreadful fear resurfaced and it gripped him like a vice, forcing him to spurt out the words he'd been trying to swallow for so long.

"What if I'm in Slytherin?"

Harry, his dad looked at him carefully. His dad crouched down, so that he was almost level with Albus's face.

"Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, so that nobody but his mum could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, "you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

Albus knew all about Severus Snape. But, that was not what he wanted to hear.

"But what if I am in Slytherin?"

"Then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

This piece of information was new to Albus. He looked at his father in wonder.

"Really?" he whispered.

His dad nodded. "It did for me."

Albus pulled his dad into a big hug and smiled at him. He then leapt onto the train that would carry him to Hogwarts, his heart light and his mind excited.

It was only then he noticed how a lot of faces were turned towards his father.

"Why are they all staring?" he demanded, as he and Rose craned their necks to look at the other students.

"Don't let it worry you," said Ron. "It's me, I'm extremely famous."

Everyone laughed, but Albus knew it was something else. Rose's face betrayed the ghost of a smirk and he was sure she would know why. She perhaps read it in some book or the other, being the bookworm that she is. Albus had to remember to ask her when they were all settled.

Suddenly, the train let out a mighty roar as it lurched forwards. Albus and the others waved madly at their parents and watched Lily and Hugo run after the train until it disappeared around a corner.

"So, we are off to Hogwarts," Albus said as he smiled at Rose's twinkling eyes.

Hogwarts would have to be ready for this new batch of trouble-makers, oh yes.

**A/N: Feedback is very much appreciated. Go on, leave a review with your thoughts. :)**

**Next Chapter: First Glimpse Of Hogwarts**


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